Gourmet Chunky Monkey Cookies
Gourmet banana bread in cookie form. Caramelized bananas and toasted walnuts enhance the nutty and complex flavors in this delicious cookie.
Equipment
- 2 sheet trays or use one at a time
- 1 tablespoon cookie scooper optional
- 1 saute pan
Ingredients
- 1 very ripe banana
- 1 tbsp butter for sautéing the banana
- 1 cup walnuts roughly chopped
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- 8 tbsp butter room temp
- 1 egg room temp
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Toast the walnuts: Heat oven to 350° and place roughly chopped walnuts on a parchment-lined sheet tray. Place in oven for roughly 5 minutes (keep an eye on them, oven times vary). Remove and let cool.
- Caramelizing the banana: Peel and slice the banana. Heat a sauté pan to medium/medium high with a tablespoon of butter. Wait for the butter to melt, then place banana slices in the pan so they lay flat. Without moving them, sauté for about 4-5 minutes. You can peek under them with a fork to see if they're browning enough. Flip them over and brown on the other side, another 3-4 minutes. Once done, turn heat off and scoop bananas on a plate or bowl and mash with fork. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugars (dark brown and cane) with the butter with a handheld mixer. Once fluffy and paler (~3 minutes), add the caramelized banana, heavy cream, vanilla extract and egg. Mix together.
- In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt).
- In two batches, fold in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together until just combined.
- Switching to a spatula, mix in the toasted walnuts and chocolate chips until just combined. Cover the bowl and store dough overnight (ideally).
- Once dough is refrigerated, heat oven to 350° and line two baking sheet trays with parchment paper (or use 1 at a time, storing the dough in the fridge in between bakes).
- Take a tablespoon cookie scooper and scoop the dough onto a parchment-lined tray. You should fit 12 cookies on one tray, leaving 3-4 inches of space in between cookies.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes. To achieve that classic flat cookie look, take the tray out of the oven after 10 minutes and tap it a few times on the stove (careful not to tilt the tray!). Place back in oven for remaining 2-3 minutes.
- Once cookies are baked, remove and let cool on a cooling rack. Enjoy! These are best when eaten the day of but can also be store for 2-3 days in an airtight container.